Away for the Holidays
by NaruDeeds
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and Sasuke and Sakura are away for the holidays. Sasuke on his redemption journey, and Sakura on a temporary mission helping him. Can Naruto have a happy Christmas without them around?


Hard to believe it's Christmas again. Wrapped up the "All They Want for Christmas" series last year, so this year is just a random Christmas one shot. Enjoy!

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><p>A light snow fluttered down from the gray sky above, gently coating the city of Konoha. High up in the hokage tower, Naruto Uzumaki stared at the window taking in the scene. It was a beautiful sight; it looked like a scene straight out of a Christmas movie. While his heart wasn't fully in it at the moment, he couldn't help but smile. People had been clamoring for a "white Christmas" for the last few weeks, and now they were getting it.<p>

He idly wondered if it were as pretty as this in the village where _they_ were – Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke's letter said he was somewhere near Suna… so probably not. Sasuke's letter which was still sitting in his pocket, serving as a stark reminder of the realities of his life. Sasuke's letter which he secretly hated but would never admit it out loud.

"Nice night out, eh?"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the man who had spoken. Since Sakura and Sasuke were out of the village on Christmas Eve, he was spending the evening with the other remaining members of the now defunct Team 7.

"It really is, Kakashi-sensei. Sai, you should draw this. I think Kimika would like it."

"Why would she like it? She's seen snow before." Sai asked.

"Jeez… you're even worse than I am." Naruto chuckled. "She's your girlfriend, and she's on a long-term mission that is keeping her out of Konoha for the holidays. A scene like this that _you_ drew for her would be a welcome gift. I suck with women, and even I can figure that out."

"I don't understand… she's 20 years old and has lived in Konoha all her life. She's seen this before."

"I don't know how you have a girlfriend and I don't." Naruto sighed. "Just paint it for her and thank me later."

"I suppose I have nothing else to do with my hands right now." Sai said, unfurling a blank scroll and pulling out his paint brush.

Naruto stepped away from the window so he could have an unobstructed view for his painting. He walked over the Hokage's desk and took a seat with Kakashi and Yamato.

"It's your first year being able to legally drink sake here in Konoha," Kakashi noted. "Want a cup?"

"If you think I've never tried sake before, you have another thing coming Sensei." Naruto grinned. "I did travel with that Pervy Sage for all those years."

"I never said it would be your first." Kakashi countered, wearing his signature "one-eyed smile" (as Naruto and Sakura had started referring to it over the years).

"What the hell. I don't have anything to do today anyways." Naruto replied. "I didn't know you were a big sake drinker though. Did Tsunade rub off on you?"

"Just because you never saw Kakashi drinking sake much doesn't mean he's not a fan." Yamato said with a small smile on his face. "I remember one time after Kakashi and I got back from an ANBU mission in the Grass Village, Kakashi drank so much sake that he ended up on the roof of…"

"Now now now." Kakashi quickly cut in. "No need to tell that story, Yamato. I am the hokage after all. The less people who know about that night the better. Don't you think?"

"You can trust me! Tell me Captain Yamato!"

"It's Christmas eve. Give me a break Yamato."

"Fine. Your sensei here just ended up on his own roof to uh… read a book."

"It's gotta be better than that!"

"You realize he's going to be asking me about this for years now, right Yamato? You don't know how long it took me to get all of them to give up on seeing me without my mask on."

"Give up? Yeah… that's right. We totally gave up on that." Naruto grinned.

"Well at least I only have to worry about you for a while." Kakashi replied. "When you, Sasuke and Sakura all team up I have to be on my toes."

Naruto couldn't help but deflate slightly at the mention of Sasuke and Sakura. He tried to hide it, but it didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room.

"I'm sorry… maybe not the best duo to mention right now." Kakashi apologized.

"Nothing to apologize for, Sensei. I'm just glad they're getting to spend Christmas together." Naruto lied with a half-hearted smile.

"I was trying to convince Sasuke to take a break from his redemption journey for the holidays, and then that letter came in. You know if there could have been anything else…"

"I'm not mad, and I'm not disappointed. So stop apologizing. Besides, it's not like you forced either of them to go. They both chose to go. After we saved the world, Sasuke made his choice to leave. And I knew that the second he asked us for help that Sakura would offer it. She really misses him. Well… missed him by now I guess."

"I still…"

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Kakashi. I really do. But really, you don't need to apologize or feel guilty or anything. Would I prefer that Sakura and Sasuke were here? Absolutely. Am I a little bummed they aren't? Absolutely. But they each made their choice, and I'm sure they're very happy to be spending Christmas together."

"I don't see what the big deal is, really." Sai said, never taking his eyes off the window as he painted the scene below. "This is a much quieter, calmer and less violent Christmas than usual without Ugly being here."

"I probably will avoid a trip to the hospital this year." Naruto chuckled. "That is a surprisingly good point."

"I'm sure the hospital staff won't miss having you come in at all over the holidays." Kakashi agreed. "I keep thinking that, one of these years, you'll reach an age where you mature and understand that a hospital isn't a prison where they try to torture you. I especially thought it might change when you finally turned 18."

"I'm not falling for your tricks!" Naruto countered. "Everyone knows that the entire purpose of a hospital is to keep you from having any fun or training at all! I don't care how old I get; I will never allow myself to be trapped in a hospital!"

Before anyone could say anything else, an ANBU member suddenly appeared in a poof of smoke.

"Lord Hokage, I'm afraid we have an emergency."

"Ah come on world." Kakashi sighed. "It's Christmas Eve. Shouldn't everyone, both good and bad, be taking the day off? What happened?"

"A small squad of bandits have attacked a farming village at the edge of Konoha's territory. This village is so small that we've never posted security of any kind there before. The bandits haven't killed anyone, _yet_, but our informant has assured us they don't plan on sparing anyone."

"Is it Yakashiro Village?" Naruto asked, quickly getting to his feet.

"Yes sir."

"I traveled through there with Jiraiya. Let me handle this, Kakashi. Those people were incredibly kind to me. I'll make those bastards pay for messing with such nice people on Christmas Eve."

"I'm not going to send you alone, I'll send a…"

"There's no time!" Naruto quickly countered. "No one else in this village can travel as quickly as I can. A squad would only slow me down. Whether or not you give me the order, I'm going."

"Still always rushing off to play the hero, even though you've already saved the world once." Kakashi said. His eyes were filled with pride as he looked at his former student.

"Very well, Naruto. You've never let us down when we've put our faith in you before. So, I'll put my faith in you again. Send a messenger toad if you need backup. I'll go myself if need be."

"Thanks, sensei. But it's just a small group of bandits. I'll be fine." Naruto slid his unfinished cup of sake to Yamato.

"Mind finishing this for me, Captain? I have places to be."

"I'll get you another one when you return safe." Yamato smiled. "Go show them why they don't miss with Konoha's own."

Naruto nodded and then golden-orange energy enveloped him. He offered the former members of Team 7 one last smile before disappearing in a flash.

"Not a single question about the enemy… just rushing in blindly to save the day. I'm beginning to doubt that boy will never change." Yamato chuckled. "Still… I'm a little nervous. Something seems off about all of this. Why would a small bandit squad attack a village in Konoha's territory? It doesn't make sense. You should send some backup."

"Already taking care of it." Kakashi replied, scribbling something down onto a small piece of parchment. He bit his thumb and slammed it down on the table.

"Summoning jutsu!"

"Kakashi… I'm always happy to help. But it's Christmas Eve." Pakkun's voice called. The smoke cleared to reveal the small pug.

"Sorry about that. But I have a message I need you to deliver to some friends of ours. They need to go back up Naruto who just rushed off to save some people in danger."

"Ah, those people eh?" Pakkun commented. "Fine. Do you know if they're still on the same path?"

"As of the message I received this morning, yes."

"Then this shouldn't be too difficult. I'll be off." The pug jumped out the window and took off at a surprisingly blinding speed.

"Who are these other people?" Yamato asked. "Can we trust them to back Naruto up?"

"I'm a little biased… but I'd say we can." Kakashi said. He flashed Yamato a smile that was so wide it could be seen through his mask.

* * *

><p>The world around him was basically a blur as Naruto zoomed by. Yakashiro Village was especially special to him. When he had first started feeling homesick, Jiraiya brought him to the small village for a few days. Just being back in Konoha territory had been enough to make Naruto feel better, and the villagers were among the nicest people he had ever met. Somehow, they found out about his love of Ichiraku's and, on his last day there, managed to have a bowl of it delivered for him to enjoy.<p>

Those people were far too kind to deserve this. Yet, Naruto felt slightly guilty. Because he was actually thankful for this distraction. Now he had something to do over Christmas Eve other than think about the people he _wasn't_ spending it with. His hand brushed the crumpled letter in his pocket. He didn't need to pull it out to know what it said. He had read it enough times to have it memorized.

_Kakashi,_

_I'm in a village in the desert near Suna, and there's a situation here that I need Konoha's help with. There is a strange illness going around that seems like it's a poison, but I can't figure out how to stop it. I've gotten some medics from Suna here to try to help, but they can't figure out what's happening either. We need someone from Konoha. Konoha's knowledge base of poisons and illnesses is the best in the world thanks to Tsunade and Sakura. _

_If possible, I would prefer you send Sakura. Her skills would be invaluable here, and I would feel absolutely certain that if these people can be saved, then they will be. However, I understand what time of the year it is. Whoever comes here will have to spend Christmas away from their home. I understand if Sakura doesn't want to do that and will not hold it against her or Konoha in any way. She is not required, as Konoha's medic nins have extensively studied Tsunade and Sakura's scrolls on poisons and illnesses. So please reiterate that she is not, in any way, required to come. Thanks to her and Tsunade writing their knowledge down, any Konoha medical ninja would probably be able to save these people._

_In response to your earlier letters, I've told you once and I'll tell you again… I'm not coming back to Konoha until I'm finished. I'm not going to "take a break" as you say. I'm sorry if this disappoints you or anyone back home, but I promise I will return._

_Thank you for your help with this, and have a merry Christmas._

_-Sasuke_

Of course, the second Kakashi showed the letter to Sakura she agreed to go. Save peoples' lives _and_ get to help Sasuke? Naruto reckoned it was probably the easiest decision she had ever made. There wasn't as much as a millisecond of doubt for her. She instantly said yes with a somewhat excited look on her face. Naruto tried telling himself that she so readily said yes because there were lives depending on her… but he didn't doubt for a second that she wouldn't have said yes even without the emergency. The offer to spend Christmas with Sasuke was one that Sakura Haruno would never turn down.

He wasn't bitter about that, of course. He knew that Sakura and Sasuke were destined for each other. But he selfishly hoped that she would be his, in a way, while Sauske was on his trip. Not in a romantic way of course (he didn't want to do anything to get in the way of her ultimate happiness). But he had been hoping that he would be her number one guy in Sasuke's absence. They could hang out all the time and have fun, because once Sasuke came back that was all going to end.

And for the most part, that had turned out to be. He and Sakura hung out all the time, and he was grateful for that. He had just hoped he would get to spend a few Christmases with her before Sasuke took her forever. He wasn't that lucky though.

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. What kind of a horrible person was he? Thinking about all that when there was a village being attacked by bandits? Those villagers were having a way worse go of life at the moment than he was. Yet he allowed himself to focus on his doomed love life. Those people deserved his full attention. They didn't deserve what was happening to them.

Naruto grit his teeth in anger at the thought and pushed his body to go faster. Those bandits were not going to have a very good Christmas… he was going to make sure of that.

* * *

><p>A trip that would have taken a normal ninja an entire day only ended up taking Naruto a few hours. He flashed into the middle of the village, much to the surprise of the invading bandits. He glanced around to ensure that all the villagers were ok before settling his angry glare on the bandit who appeared to be the leader.<p>

"Leave. **Now**." He snarled.

"And who the hell are you to tell us what to do? We found this village fair and square. Finders keepers and all that, right boys?" The leader cockily replied, not intimidated by Naruto in the slightest.

"It's Christmas Eve! This is a time for celebration and cheer. This is a time for people to be relaxing with their families. I will give you one more warning… And believe me, it's hard for me to do this. I want to do nothing more than hurt you all _very_ badly… **Leave. Now.**"

"Me and the boys are perfectly happy where we are. You may be some hotshot ninja, all glowy and crap, but we outnumber you 20-1. You did not think this one through, ninja."

"I was hoping you'd be like this." Naruto said, with a slightly feral grin. He disappeared and reappeared behind the bandit leader. He struck the man in the back, sending him flying forward. Before the man could do anything, Naruto was on him driving his face into the ground. Seeing Naruto's speed in action, the other bandits started to panic.

They started to run, but Naruto wasn't going to let them go. He gave them a chance at mercy. He flickered to each one, batting them to the ground as if they were some sort of rag dolls.

"Fuck that hurt! This was not worth the pay day!" A bandit whimpered as Naruto stood over him.

"Pay day? What do you mean?"

"N-nothing."

Naruto formed a rasengan in his hand and glared down at the man. "This is a ball of compressed chakra going in opposite directions. You don't want to find out what it does when it's used on a human being. Tell me about your pay day… _now_."

"Get that thing away from me! I'll talk, I'll talk! I don't know much, ok? Some sciency-looking guy just paid us to attack this village. He said he wanted to lure some Konoha ninjas out so he could test something out on them. That's all I know, I swear!"

"What? Where is this bastard right now? Tell me!"

"To draw out the great hero himself… it truly is a special time of year." A new voice called. Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see a man in a white lab-coat sneering at him. The man wasn't physically imposing in the slightest, but there was something about him that made Naruto feel uneasy. He wore a pair of circular glasses, and had his long, brown hair tied back in a messy pony tail.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but you made a mistake! No one wishes harm upon Konoha ninjas on my watch and gets away with it. And no one threatens innocent villagers on my watch either. Naruto summoned a rasengan in each hand and prepared to charge when, suddenly, the ground beneath him lit up in some sort of giant seal. His rasengans dissipated and Naruto dropped to knee gasping. He couldn't feel his chakra!

"Kurama… help…" Naruto mumbled under his breath. He wasn't sure what was happening, but Kurama might. Naruto needed his friend right now in a big way.

"Kurama? Oh, the Kyubi. Yes, he won't be able to help you. I'll admit, part of me was annoyed at having to change this seal you're standing on. See, I prepared it to block the chakra of ordinary ninjas. As a jinchuriki who has successfully made his demon's chakra his own, your chakra is very unique and very different. I had to make quite a bit of alterations on the fly. It forced me to sit back while my poor temporary employees here got creamed by you."

"Who… are you…"

"Who am I? That doesn't really matter. What _does_ matter is who you are. The mighty hero himself, the savior of the world… Naruto Uzumaki. To think, my little trap would catch a fully developed jinchuriki with such rich familial ties! You have Namikaze _and_ Uzumaki blood running through your veins! And if the information I've received is correct, it is possible for all of the nine bijus to meet inside of you. Just imagine if I could somehow use you as a conduit to extract _all _of their power!"

Naruto felt his strength being drained from him and tried to brush his weakness aside. His limbs felt like jelly, and each breath he took was labored. But that didn't matter. What mattered was stopping this guy. He wasn't sure who this man was, but he was sure that his intentions were not good. He rose to his feet and balled his hand up into a fist.

"You can stand? That's impressive. You ninjas are so used to having your chakra that losing access to it practically paralyzes you. Well… come at me then. If that's what you intend."

Naruto shakily rushed forward and tried to land a punch, but the man easily dodged. He caught Naruto in the gut with a knee, driving all of the wind out of Naruto's lungs. Naruto fell to his knees, wheezing desperately.

"I wasn't going to be rough… but you forced this upon yourself." The man sneered. Naruto cried out in pain as the main stomped down into his back. Before he could gather himself, he felt the man's hand grab ahold of the back of his head. His head was lifted slightly up before being mercilessly smashed down into the ground.

"I'm going to take everything from you." The man taunted. He lifted Naruto's head and again smashed it into the ground. Naruto was fighting to stay conscious, but there were a lot of little black dots dancing across his vision, and they looked _very_ inviting…

"First I'll take your power, of course, and then your life…" The man said, smashing Naruto's face against the ground a third time. "And then you'll get the pleasure of watching from the afterlife as I destroy all those people whom you fought so hard to protect." The man lifted Naruto's head up and smashed his face into the ground with even more force than before. Naruto's mind was in a haze… he was barely holding onto consciousness at this point.

"To think, you fought so hard to save everyone, and yet, you're ultimately going to end up as a failure."

"Like hell he is!" A new voice roared. Naruto had never heard a voice so filled with anger and rage as that one. The ground seemed to shake underneath the voice's fury. It should be scary… yet Naruto felt completely at ease with it. He wanted to stay conscious and help the voice out, but those little black dots had spread. He couldn't really see anything. His eyes drooped closed and he lost consciousness, but not before hearing a slightly odd saying.

"SHANAROO!"

* * *

><p>"You've been in here all night. The villagers brought us a lot of food. Go out and get something to eat in the living room." A voice quietly said as Naruto slowly began to wake up. He noticed two things right away. One – his body felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it for three days straight, and he couldn't feel his chakra. Two – a soft hand had a hold of his.<p>

"I'm fine. I got some sleep." A second, much higher, voice stubbornly replied.

"He's not…"

"This is _my_ fault, Sasuke. I'm sticking right here!"

_Sasuke? _Naruto thought to himself. _How the hell did I get to Suna?_

"How is this your fault?" Sasuke asked. "He's the one who ran off alone to save the day. That's what he does. That's Naruto's way."

"If I had just finished administering the cures quicker, we could've left earlier. We could've been here before that son of a bitch hurt him…"

"We had no way of knowing that Naruto was going to need us, Sakura. It's ridiculous to blame yourself. You saved an entire village, and you saved Naruto. I'd say you don't have much to blame yourself over."

"But…" Naruto felt Sakura squeeze his hand a little tighter.

"No buts. You said he probably wouldn't wake up today anyways. Go grab some lunch. I'll watch over him while you eat."

"I think I preferred you when you were a moody asshole who didn't care about any of us…" Sakura grumbled. "Fine. But you call me the second he so much as starts breathing differently."

"Of course. Go eat." Naruto felt Sakura let go of his hand. After a few minutes, he slowly opened his eyes, squinting as they got adjusted to the light.

"Oh you asshole." Sasuke groaned. Naruto looked over to his friend in confusion.

"Of course you pick _now_ to wake up. The moment _after_ I convinced Sakura to leave your side for one second. She's going to be pissed."

"How did I…get to Suna?"

"Suna?"

"You and Sakura are in some village in the Suna desert. If you both are here, then that means I somehow traveled to Suna."

"No, moron. We're still in the same village you came to save. We're your backup."

"Why would Kakashi assign you guys as my backup? Suna is at least another day from here, and that's if you sprinted the whole way."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Because Kakashi knew that we were on our way back to Konoha to surprise you for Christmas."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-what?"

"Sakura was hellbent on discovering the cure and curing all those villagers in time for us to make it back to Konoha. I believe her direct quote was something along the lines of… no offense, but we have other people we need to spend Christmas with. You're coming back with me for a week one way or the other."

"Are you serious? She got to spend Christmas with you, basically one on one, and she chose to rush home?"

"Are you surprised? You weren't there. Do you really think she wouldn't want to spend Christmas with you?"

"It's not much of a choice when choosing between the two of us for her."

"No." Sasuke hummed. "It isn't."

"So… what happened exactly?" Naruto asked, deciding to shift the conversation. "The last thing I remembered, some creep was smashing my face into the ground."

"That's about when we arrived. I've never seen Sakura move so fast. The second she heard what that man was doing to you she moved so fast I had to activate my sharingan to keep track of her. It was the angriest I've ever seen her… maybe even the angriest I've ever seen anyone. It made me glad I never succeeded in killing you back when I was still trying. I would not have wanted to deal with _that_." And then Sasuke did something Naruto never thought he witness. Sasuke Uchiha shivered slightly in fear.

"Don't get me wrong, I was pissed too. But she beat me to the punch. She flashed behind that guy and punched him _hard_. It was a miracle his head stayed on his shoulders. Once he was down, she pounced on him and started smashing his face into the ground like he had done with yours. Except, she was using her chakra-enhanced strength. If I hadn't stopped her, I'm pretty sure she would have smashed his skull in."

"She was that mad? I've been beat up before…" Naruto muttered in surprise.

"She's become very protective of you over the years." Sasuke explained.

"Ok. I have a plate of food." Sakura called as she walked back into the room. "So I can…"

She froze when her eyes landed on Naruto's very open ones. She dropped the plate of food (luckily Sasuke had quick enough reactions to catch it), rushed over to Naruto and jumped on him, hugging him tightly.

"You're awake… You're ok…" She mumbled.

"I'm fine." Naruto awkwardly replied. He wasn't sure what to do in this situation. Sakura had hugged him before, but never like this. "Thanks for saving me, Sakura."

"I'm sorry it came to that." Sakura apologized. "If I had just gotten here a little sooner… that piece of shit wouldn't have…"

"Don't do that. You saved me. I'm the one who rushed off without backup…again."

"You're right. Be more careful, idiot!" Sakura pulled back and slapped Naruto on the back of the head. "You never know what's going to happen. You aren't invincible!"

"I know, I know. But there wasn't really time for all that, and I thought I was just going to be dealing with regular bandits…"

"It was still stupid." Sakura huffed.

"You would've done the same thing in my position!"

"That doesn't make it not stupid! And I'm not going to be the hokage; you are!"

"You think I'm going to be the hokage?"

Sakura looked at Naruto like he was stupid. "Naruto…_everyone knows_ you're going to be the hokage. It's not exactly a well-guarded secret."

"I thought you would've been rooting for Sasuke to become hokage…"

"Sasuke? Naruto… you do remember that Sasuke's grand idea of being the hokage was to basically kill all the leaders and rule the world under his own, tyrannical rule, right?"

"Who said anything about tyrannical…" Sasuke muttered.

"But I saved him. He might make a good hokage now."

"Not better than you. And I think he would agree."

"Maybe because he hasn't burned as many bridges as I have…" Sasuke admitted. Even after all these years, he was still competitive with Naruto.

"But you wished him good luck back then… before you knew what his plan was I mean."

"Maybe that seal somehow affected your brain, because you seem dumber than normal right now. Naruto, if Sasuke wanted to be the hokage he would have needed all the luck he could get. Just because I wished him luck didn't mean I was rooting for him to become the hokage over you."

"So you think I'm going to be a good hokage?"

"I know you're going to be a _great_ hokage. Maybe even the best." Sakura replied, causing a wide grin to break out on Naruto's face. The knowledge that the most important woman in his life believed in him as much as she did filled him with pride.

"Hell yeah I am! Let's go back to Konoha!" Naruto went to stand up, but Sakura quickly pushed him back down into the bed.

"We're not going anywhere. Your body hasn't recovered yet. You are in no condition to travel."

"But…it's Christmas Eve! We have to be back in Konoha by Christmas!"

"It's Christmas, moron." Sasuke smirked. "You were passed out like some sort of wimp for a while."

"What?! But…"

"Sasuke…Don't goad him like that." Sakura chided. "The seal that cut off your chakra and put your body under an enormous strain. The fact that you're even conscious right now is a miracle. I expected you to be out for another couple of days at least."

"So… what happened then?"

"I don't fully understand it, but somehow that seal you were standing on caused your chakra pathways to close. They're all in the process of reopening, but it will take a while. You won't be able to reliably use your chakra for a few days."

"I can't feel Kurama, did he…"

"No. That asshole didn't take Kurama from you. The seal somehow was able to block your connection with Kurama. Sasuke has tried to get into your mind to talk to the fox, but he was blocked. The seal is continually getting weaker and weaker though. So you'll be able to talk to Kurama soon. I'm afraid I simply don't know enough about jinchurikis to give you any more information than that."

"You're amazing, Sakura." Naruto flashed her a smile.

"Not amazing enough. This is not acceptable. When we get back to Konoha, I am going to study you. We are going to learn everything there is to learn about jinchurikis. That way, I'll have a better idea of what to do if this happens again."

"So… when are we leaving?"

"When _I _say your body is ready. A villager offered this unrented house to us, and I specifically brought you here because I know how much you hate hospitals. No need for you to try to escape. So just lay back, relax and get better."

"But I feel better!" Naruto lied.

"Oh really? Do you want to spar with me then?" Sakura asked.

"I thought you said I can't access my chakra yet?"

"You can't. But apparently you feel better so…"

"Wait a second… so I have to spar with you if I want to leave?"

"Yep." Sakura grinned.

"Not fair! Sparring with you hurts! What kind of doctor fights their patient when releasing him?"

"Stop complaining." Sasuke groaned. "She won't actually beat you up if you let yourself fully recover."

"Awww Sasuke… You're ruining the fun." Sakura pouted.

"You chide me for goading him, and then you scare the crap out of him by making him believe you're going to beat him up… Whatever. I'll leave you two be. Sakura, your food is on this table."

"I'm not hungry. Can you take it back out there? You can have it if you want."

"Fine." Sasuke picked up the forgotten plate of food and exited the room. Naruto expected Sakura to leave and follow after him, but to his surprise, she instead laid back down and wrapped her arms around him.

"Sakura?"

"Is this uncomfortable?" Sakura asked in a worried tone. "I'm sure you're still extremely sore…"

"No! It's nice! I'm just… surprised is all."

"You're wondering why I'm holding you…" Sakura noted. "Sorry about this. It's just… holding you like this ensures me that you're ok. I can feel your chest rising and falling. I don't have that horrible image of you getting your face smashed against the ground…"

"You must have really been scared if you're holding me like this."

"I've never seen you so powerless and helpless before. You practically seem invincible. To see you getting your face smashed into the ground like that, completely unable to fight back…" Sakura shivered as the image replayed in her mind. "I was so _mad_, and I was so scared... Part of me almost wishes Sasuke wouldn't have intervened and let me killed that bastard. How anyone could do that to you…"

"I'm alright now." Naruto gently reminded. "Thanks to you. You saved my life again."

"And yet, we're not even close to even. Hopefully I don't have to catch up though. Your life doesn't need to be put into danger again anytime soon."

"Can I ask you something?" Naruto asked.

"As long as it's not perverted."

"What? Oh come on. When do I ever ask you perverted stuff?"

"Five months ago. We were walking home after drinking with some of our friends. You told me you liked the new tank top I started to wear every now and then and asked me to wear it all the time. When I asked you why, you said it showed off my cleavage."

"It's not like I was asking you to wear it because it showed your cleavage… It just looked good on you…"

"Just because I didn't pound you then doesn't mean I won't now." Sakura warned. "So… what do you want to ask me?"

"Why were you and Sasuke coming back to Konoha for Christmas? You seemed so excited to get to go and spend Christmas with him. I think you would've accepted that mission even if people's lives weren't at risk."

"I definitely would have." Sakura agreed. "Because I knew that if I spoke with Sasuke, face-to-face, I could convince him to come home for the holidays. I knew I could give you the best Christmas surprise."

"Me? You were thinking about me?"

"Of course. I miss Sasuke, but not as much as you do. I swear, you two could be boyfriends."

"WHAT?! Now hang on…"

"I mean… you were each other's first kiss."

"I don't like Sasuke! I like women!"

"Yeah? Prove it." Sakura looked at Naruto with a very odd look. He was sure that he was hearing and seeing wrong. The look Sakura was shooting him was challenging, yet there was desire there.

"Prove it? Umm… how?"

"Well… you gave your first kiss to Sasuke, a guy. So, if you really like girls, then give your second kiss to a girl."

"Well umm…. you're the only girl in the room, Sakura."

"I know. So… prove it."

"Is this some kind of trap? You're not going to punch me if I kiss you?"

"Only if you do a bad job." Sakura teased. "So… are you going to prove it? Or am I going to go out there and tell Sasuke you secretly want to marry him?"

"No! I secretly want to marry you!"

Sakura's eyes widened at that (as did Naruto's). "I mean… uh… that didn't come out right."

"Just shut up and kiss me, idiot." Sakura smiled.

Naruto pressed his lips against Sakura's, and for a second, he completely forgot that his body was currently weak and extremely sore. Energy, life, warmth… they all surged through his body from Sakura's kiss. It was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced. By the time he was pulling away, his lips were tingling.

"Nope… not going to punch you." Sakura breathed out. "Not going to punch you at all."

"Did I prove myself?" Naruto smirked.

"I'd say so…" Sakura smiled.

"Hell yeah! This is the best Christmas ever!"

"It's certainly better than Christmas Eve." Sakura hummed. She laid her head down on him and the two laid in silence for a few minutes.

"So… you secretly want to marry me?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence.

"I umm… well… it's sort of crazy to want to marry someone who you've never even dated…"

"We're all crazy in our own ways."

"I guess so… hehe."

"You didn't answer my question. You want to marry me?"

"Well… yeah. I do. Do you want to marry me?"

Sakura looked up at Naruto and flashed him a loving smile.

"Nope! We haven't even dated yet. I'm not crazy."

"Hey! No fair!" Naruto pouted, causing Sakura to start laughing.

"One of us needs to be sane in this relationship, Naruto." She said with a teasing grin.

"I was lured into a trap." Naruto said, sighing dramatically. Sakura tightened her hold on him before flashing him a soft smile.

"I don't know where you and I are going to go as a couple. We might crash and burn spectacularly… But at this current point in time, I wouldn't mind being married to you eventually." Sakura watched Naruto's eyes widen and then saw the beginnings of a plan start to form.

"Assuming it happens after we've been together for plenty of time and have gotten to know each other as a couple that is!" She quickly added. "Do not even think about proposing before we've even gone out on a date."

"That's… not what I was thinking at all." Naruto lied.

Sakura rolled her eyes. If she didn't know how crazy Naruto had been about her all her life, the fact that marriage was already in his mind might have been a bit unsettling. But he had been thinking about this for years now, so she would let it slide. It took her a while for her feelings to align with his, but now that they were here, she couldn't be happier.

She laid her head back down and gave her recovering boyfriend another squeeze. This wasn't exactly the surprise she had in mind for him for Christmas, but she had no complaints. This turned out to be a very good Christmas.

* * *

><p>And that's that! Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a review, and may you and yours have a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!<p> 


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